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Scientists discovered a new hydrothermal field 8,366 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean covering an area the size of a football field that could help them better understand how volcanic activity has affected life in Earth’s oceans. These deep-sea vents are located in places where activity from the planet’s crust causes tectonic plates to split and form new seafloor rock that contains cracks where seawater seeps – similar to what hot springs do on land, these vents eject mineral-rich fluids. heated to a high temperature. A team of researchers from Lehigh University discovered this field about 200 miles off the coast of Mexico and have stated that it will help to advance our understanding of how marine life is – and continues to be – affected by volcanic eruptions. Scroll down for the video ‘The mapping work provides a detailed picture of the ocean floor so we can monitor and measure changes that occur when the next volcanic eruption occurs,’ said one of th...

Geckos are famous for having gripping feet which allow them to scale vertical surfaces with ease. They get this superpower from millions of microscopic structures like the hairs on their toes. Now, scientists have zoomed in to take a closer look at the structures, called setae, and found that they are coated in an ultra-thin film of water-repelling lipid molecules just a nanometer, or one millionth of a meter thick. Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) analyzed the surface of the setae using high-energy X-rays emitted by a type of particle accelerator called a synchrotron. Synchrotron microscopy shows that the lipid molecules coat the surface of the setae in a dense and regular arrangement. Lipids can play a role in this process because they are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water. “The lipids may serve to push the water under the spatula, allowing them to make closer contact with the surface,” said physicist and co-author Tobias We...